Recent developments in Houston's policing history unfolded as former Police Chief Troy Finner addressed the scandal involving the Houston Police Department's (HPD) dropped cases during a retirement event. More than a hundred individuals gathered at the George R. Brown Convention Center, where Finner expressed his desire for clarity and transparency about the matters that prematurely ended his tenure. "I want to make sure that the whole story is told in this because the citizens deserve it. The victims and the citizens deserve it," Finner stated, as reported by the Houston Chronicle.

According to the same source, Finner stepped down amidst a growing scandal over 264,000 suspended cases— a stain on the department's trustworthiness, per Mayor John Whitmire's comments surrounding Finner's retirement. Speaking at the event honoring Finner's 34 years of service with HPD, hosted by Council Members Edward Pollard, Tiffany Thomas, and Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, Finner declined to get involved in decision-making on the suspended cases but remained hopeful for the department's candidness moving forward.

Earlier, KIAH reported that Mayor Whitmire notified HPD officers and employees via email about Chief Finner's sudden retirement at 10:31 p.m. The email indicated that Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite would assume the role of acting chief, sparked by a scandal involving a substantial number of dropped cases since 2016 due to "lack of personnel." Finner, who claimed to have been unaware of the specific police code used to suspend these cases until 2021, found his past brought into question by previous knowledge of the code from a 2018 email. "Until I saw the email today, I had no recollection of it," Finner stated, affirming his past unawareness and commitment to an independent investigation.

At the retirement event, former Mayor Sylvester Turner celebrated Finner's consensus support when he was chosen to lead HPD in 2021. Turner applauded Finner for his leadership during the harrowing times of the COVID-19 pandemic and the social upheavals that followed George Floyd's murder in 2020. As for the matter of the dropped investigations, after the retirement was mutually decided by Finner and Mayor Whitmire—it was Finner's scandal, rocking the department and its personnel—prominent civic leaders stood by Finner's contribution to the city. "Tonight, he's our chief," affirmed Council Member Evans-Shabazz, as noted by the Houston Chronicle.